In the review of the RIA Novosti correspondent, Dmitry Bivol on the way to the absolute championship, the great victory of Alexander Usik and the completion of the Canelo and Gennady Golovkin trilogy – these and other boxing events of 2022.

In 2022, World Boxing Association (WBA Super) light heavyweight belt holder Dmitry Bivol gained worldwide fame. In May, he punished Saul Alvarez, the world’s best boxer regardless of weight categories (P4P), for his self-confidence. Canelo cleared the second midsection and was about to produce new belts in a different weight class. But what went wrong… Bivol lifted the Mexican star’s crown and created the sensation of the year, beating the favorite unanimously. It’s important to note that Alvarez had only lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. by that evening in Las Vegas.

In November, Kyrgyzstan’s Tokmak battled another Mexican, the undefeated Gilberto Ramirez, bringing his professional record to 21-0.

They want to see Russian Artur Beterbiev as Bivol’s next rival. He does not know the defeat (18-0), the holder of the belts of the World Boxing Council (WBC), the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and the World Boxing Organization (WBO) – this will not only be a fight of the undefeated, but also a battle for the status of absolute world champion in light heavyweight .

It is a pity that in 2022 no one began to prepare for the organization of the struggle. In the summer, Beterbiev defeated American Joe Smith Jr. by technical knockout and received a new contender in the person of Anthony Yarde. But even after the Briton, Bivol won’t be on the horizon: WBC mandatory contender Callum Smith has booked a spot.

Due to Canelo’s black streak in his career, Oleksandr Usyk became the best boxer in the world regardless of weight categories. In 2022, the undefeated Ukrainian fought British Anthony Joshua for the second time and retained the WBA Super, WBO, IBF and International Boxing Organization (IBO) championship belts. What else do you need for greatness? Missing the WBC title held by the indestructible Briton Tyson Fury. The Gypsy King alternately announces his retirement, then conducts a pointless trilogy with Derek Chisora ​​… But still no super fight with Usyk.

We believe that in 2023, Fury will be responsible for trash talk and sign the contract. Fan gestalt must be turned off.

After the defeat of Bivolu, Alvarez did not want (or did not dare) to activate the option of an immediate revenge with Dmitry and agreed to another no less high-profile duel. The old story with Gennady Golovkin, where the draw and the victory of Saul, simply forced the supporters to arrange a trilogy. They did it: Canelo was unconvincing, but nevertheless defeated GGG by unanimous decision and retained the WBA (Super), WBC, IBF and WBO super middleweight belts.

Why not believable? Golovkin entered the fray after a year and a half of inactivity, but not only did he lose ahead of schedule – At the end of the fight, the legend burned down and began to tour. But it’s too late. Had GGG had a little more time, the confused Mexican could have left the ring with a second loss in a row.

Fans have been waiting for this fight for a long time and the boxing ring finally got their sworn opponents. But the September fight ended in just 13 seconds: the main event of the Moscow Hardcore Boxing league tournament was shockingly short, some fans did not even fully understand what was happening at the CSKA Arena … Vyacheslav Datsik jumped on Alexander Emelianenko and sent him. opponent for deep knockout.

Despite AE’s return to the sport after serious health problems and even naming himself Phoenix, the challenge turned out to be completely non-competitive. Yes, we got a good finish. But they also got a lot of questions. Was it worth it that Emelianenko Jr. accepted this test? And how everything will turn out, bring the legend to the confrontation in the best possible way.

Also, according to the results of 2022, it is impossible not to note the International Boxing Association (IBA) headed by a Russian. Omar Kremlev. Despite the consensus of sports officials on the fate of domestic athletes after the events in Ukraine, the organization did not hesitate to oppose political pressures. In the fall, the IBA announced the admission of Russian and Belarusian boxers to international competitions with their own anthems and flags.

In December, the leadership of the WBA proved to be the best: Russians and Belarusians were restored in the ratings of the World Boxing Association.